Hidden Car Expenses Destroying Your Budget
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2021 was the 21st anniversary of this profound question. Dude, where's my car? Dude, I don't know where your car is, but I do know that if you bought it in 2021, you paid quite the premium. In case you've tried to erase that from your memory, here are some stats to remind you. In 2021, new car prices jumped 12%. Even crazier, used car prices jumped 37%. Well, I've got some great news. New and used car prices are finally leveling out. Yay!

Also, I have horrible news. No! God, please, no! Data shows that the overall cost of car ownership has never been higher. But George, how can this be? How can the cost of cars be decreasing while the overall cost of ownership is increasing? I'm so glad you asked, old-timey guy. In today's episode, we'll talk about why, plus what you can do to save money. And as a bonus, at the end of this video, I'm going to debunk one of the biggest fuel-saving myths out there.

Before we get to that, cruise on over and hit the like and subscribe button, and be sure to share this with someone who likes saving money on their car, which is everyone that has a car, which is a lot of people. Let's start with one of the biggest and most unnecessary cost of car ownership, interest rates. To be specific, auto loan interest rates, which have more than doubled since the beginning of 2022.

And what's worse is that this expense is totally unnecessary. Because if you don't have a car payment, interest rates don't matter. That's right, they're just like points on whose line is it anyway. That's right, the points are just like J-Lo's husband's name. I've said it before and I'll say it again. By having a car payment, you're actively saying, I don't want to be wealthy, I'd rather look wealthy and stay broke. And it hurts me to hear me hear you say that. What's the solution?

Well, you can buy a reliable used car with cash and upgrade over time. That's how I did it, and that's how I still do it, and you can do it too. Get this. In 2017, I bought a used 2009 Honda Civic for $6,000. Now, this was no one's dream car, but it was the nicest car I had ever owned up until that point. So fast forward through a lot of hard work, targeted savings, some patience, and now I drive a decade-old Tesla that I like to call my Muskmobile, and I pretend I'm Gotham's only hope. No!

And guess what? I never paid a dime in interest on either car. By buying news and paying cash, not only will this free you from worrying about interest rates, but it will also help you with the second biggest factor in cost of ownership, which is insurance premiums. Like interest rates, the average cost of full coverage insurance rose 26% over last year, blocking in at over $2,500.

But do you really have any control over what you pay for car insurance costs? Well, for starters, if you drive a five-year-old car, it's about 27% less expensive to insure than a brand new car. Basically, the fancier and newer the car, the more you're paying in insurance.

But there's a ton of ways to save. So many, in fact, that I'm going to ramble them off as fast as possible. Good luck, editors. Keep up. Safe driver. Good student. Multi-policy. Multi-car. Low mileage. Defensive driving. Anti-theft. Safety features. Paperless billing. Auto pay. Paid in full. Senior. Family. And the hits just keep on coming. I'm getting too old for this job. But the biggest hack to decrease the cost of insurance here is to shop your rates. And data tells me that most of you aren't

aren't doing that. And the way I look at it, that's like flying Delta because you're too lazy to find out that Southwest has cheaper flights. You'd have less money and less fun too, because Southwest, that's a good time. Good times in the sky.

That's their new tagline. If you want a drink, get it yourself. Now, like any good neighbor, I'm here to tell you that when shopping insurance, I recommend using Ramsey Trusted Insurance Pros, who are independent brokers. So they shop all the top companies to get you the best coverage at the best rate. And if you want to learn more, I'll drop a link in the description that you can check out. And while you're in the shopping mood, be sure to check out Tello, one of the sponsors of today's video. Tello is a quick and easy way to save big on your cell phone plan.

My family uses Tello and loves it because they offer plans for as low as five bucks. Or let's say you want to rewatch the entire series of Freaks and Geeks on your phone and then immediately do a deep dive on the entire cast to find out where's Neil Shriver now? Well, you might need Tello's unlimited everything plan. And great news, that's only 25 bucks. And best of all, their plans are flexible and there's no contracts.

So head on over to tello.com slash George to get an extra five bucks off the unlimited data plan for your first month of service. Or just click the link in the show notes. And since you'll be saving all that money on your car insurance and cell phone plan, you're going to want a great place to stash those savings. And that's where our sponsor Laurel Road comes in. They're an online bank with a great high yield savings account. 5.15% APY right now.

And continuing down this Laurel Road, it just gets better. There's no annoying maintenance fees, no minimum balance required to open an account, and your deposits are FDIC insured so you can rest easy. So make the most of your savings by heading to laurelroad.com/george or just click the link in the description to get started. That's laurelroad.com/george. Okay, back to car talk. Now that you know to buy a used car with cash and to shop your insurance, let's talk about those day-to-day expenses like maintenance.

Now, this is an area that you can't afford to skip out on. Regular routine maintenance is a must to make sure that you don't have more costly repairs down the road. It's like avoiding getting a cavity filled because of money only to end up paying for a root canal later. Now, your car may not need as much maintenance as this lady's Chia Pet car, but make sure you're doing everything you need to make sure your car lasts longer than your first relationship.

You're starting to hurt my feelings. Oh, and another thing, check your owner's manual to find out where your tire's PSI should be, how often to get oil changes, and how often to rotate your tires. Next up, let's talk gas, the cause of middle school embarrassment and great frustration as prices continue to go up. The cost per gallon has nearly doubled in the last four years, and that means even less money to build your Chia Pet collection. Why am I so hung up on the Chia Pet thing?

Anyway, most people feel like they can't do much about gas prices, but here are some practical steps to save that precious petrol. First, try using an app like Upside. It's a free cashback app that can earn up to 25 cents per gallon. And next, when possible, try to cut down on your driving. That's a no-brainer. See if you can bike to work or work from home part-time or try carpooling like I did with Sean from Accounting. Turns out, he's a great guy. Next up, maximize your use of cruise control.

Studies show that when used appropriately, cruise control can save up to 20% on fuel. And altogether, if you can fill up your car one less time a month, that's an average savings of $55 a month or over $600 a year. Now it's time to keep my promise and debunk that fuel-saving myth you may have once believed. Does rolling down your window instead of using the AC actually save on gas? The answer...

Unless you're driving a really old car with a primitive AC system, you'll actually do better to keep the windows up and the AC on rather than losing the aerodynamics by rolling the windows down. While these tips make owning a car more affordable, it probably still feels impossible to buy one without getting a loan. Well, I care enough about you to tell you

that you're wrong. Now, would you believe me if I told you there are plenty of cars out there under $5,000? It's true. And I've done the research and I have the receipts to prove it. So if you're needing to find a budget-friendly gem like my 2009 Honda Civic, watch this next video on the best used cars under $5,000 or click the link in the description. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.